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Are leaders born?
Well of course they are: it would be pretty hard for them to lead if they were not.
Was Rome built in a day?
Absolutely not.
Welcome to the third edition of The Laws of Leadership; if you want to change the world, read on.
Leadership is a process, not an event. It is compounded. It is not a simple matter of "I did some leadership" but rather, "I have a continuous leadership role."
Event | Process |
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You need to know what you don't know - know who to ask and what to ask them. Always be working towards being a little bit better today than you were yesterday.
It's about personal development.
It's about putting that hour in at the gym or revising rather than scrolling mindlessly through TikTok. Something that is going to make your life easier for you at some point in the future. Never settle for less than what you can achieve, but understand that the best things take time.
Leadership is a lot like boxing.
And in boxing there is an old saying: champions are not born in the ring, they are merely recognized there.
What counts is your daily preparation, to be a good leader you must have learned and you must have prepared. Even natural talents have to train and prepare.
If you trained, in the dark, when nobody was watching. You have the right mindset.
If you slept in, did not take accountability and only worked to impress others 'when it counted.' You've got it all wrong.
Processes are more difficult in some ways than events. It is easy to immediately feel inspired to go to the gym. But is that one time going to get you where you want to be? No.
Dedication over motivation.
Do the right things because you are responsible, and have integrity, not solely because you suddenly want to.
It is almost always impossible to go into a dysfunctional team and immediately turn them around with a single action. It takes a series of actions, spanning a reasonable period of time.
In some ways processes are easier. It is also long-term so it is hard to see the end goal, however at times that can be good because it allows you to see where you are now more clearly and gives you time to adjust your actions and change the circumstances.
An expert might go into that dysfunctional team and perform one rallying speech, and that's great. But if that's all they do, sure they have: encouraged, motivated, challenged.
But have they fundamentally changed anything?
Has anyone matured?
Or does everyone just feel a little bit more excited for a short time?
A series of meetings however? Meaningful tasks? Real, character building moments that are consistently carried out in a way that is fueled by dedication? That is leadership.
Leadership is not setting a ship asail in a direction and hoping it reaches it's destination (that's an event).
Leadership is swimming alongside your ship and being there to guide it when it gets off course (that's a process).
But we will get onto more of that in next weeks edition.
Thank you for getting this far. I hope you have enjoyed the third edition of The Laws of Leadership. If you have any questions: feel free to ask.
And remember Champions don't become champions in the ring - they are merely recognized there.
Have an incredible day, and ask yourself what processes do you need to get started in your life?